In an instant, without reason or warning, four thousand and four hundred lost souls are brought back to Earth. They're not a single day older than they were when they left and they don't have a single memory of where they went or how they got back. That's the premise of The CW's 4400, and it should sound familiar to TV fans. Based on the Sky One/USA Network series The 4400 from the mid-'00s, this new take on a not-so-old favorite will provide a thoughtful retelling of this sci-fi story for the modern-day, and we have some key bits of information about this brand new show as we near closer to its approaching fall premiere date. Here's what we know (so far) about this 4400 reboot.
*The CW’s 4400 Will Premiere On October 25, 2021 *
Mark your calendars. The CW's 4400 is coming sooner than you might think. If you're curious to see this new take on this sci-fi series, you'll want to tune in on October 25th at 9:00 p.m.. More specifically, this pilot will air right after the season premiere of All American, which should help the TV show find a wide audience during its Monday slot.
It’s A Reboot Of USA Network/Sky One’s The 4400
Airing from 2004 through 2007 on USA Network in the United States and Sky One in the U.K., The 4400 grew into a dependable cable favorite, spawning four seasons, several novels, and a loyal fanbase who were intrigued by this unique premise. At the moment, it's unclear how much this 4400 reboot will be influenced by its predecessor. It's most likely that they'll take the core premise and do their own thing with it, but we'll soon see!
4400 Will Star Joseph David-Jones, Ireon Roach, Brittany Adebumola, Khailah Johnson And More
At the forefront of The CW's 4400 are Joseph David-Jones and Ireon Roach as Jharrel and Keisha, respectively. The former was seen in Arrow while the latter appeared in 2021's Candyman. Additionally, the cast includes Brittany Adebumola (Grand Army) as Shanice, newcomer Khailah Johnson as LaDonna, Jaye Ladymore (Chicago P.D.) as Claudette, T.L. Thompson (Broadway's Straight White Men) as Dr. Andre, Cory Jeacoma (Power Book II: Ghost) as Logan, Derrick A. King (Call Your Mother) as Rev Johnson, Amarr Wooten (American Housewife) as Hayden, and newbie Autumn Best as Mildred.
The Show Follows 4400 People Who Vanish Inexplicably Over The Last Century, Only To Suddenly Return, Without Aging A Day
Not unlike the original series, The CW's 4400 will follow -- you guessed it -- four thousand and four hundred people who vanished over the last century, only to inexplicably return in Detroit, MI. These wayward souls, who are described as "overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized" in the press release, haven't aged a day since their departure. They have no memories of where they went or what happened to them when they left.
As the government races to understand this bizarre phenomenon and contain this story from the press and the public, a social worker (Joseph David-Jones) and a community corrections officer (Ireon Roach) are called upon to deal with these returning refugees. Their ideologies don't match, but these two have a similarly minded pursuit to discover the truth, and they'll quickly find that they have a bit more in common than they thought.
4400 Is Created By Ariana Jackson, Who Wrote The Pilot, And Anna Fricke
Ariana Jackson and Anna Fricke aren't names that you might instantly recognize, but you've probably seen some of their work over the years. Namely, Jackson, who wrote 4400's pilot, was a writer and producer on Lifetime's UnREAL and The CW's Riverdale. Additionally, Fricke, who serves as an executive producer, is a developer on The CW's Walker and she worked on shows like Dawson's Creek, Everwood, Men in Trees, and Being Human. Hopefully, their proven experience helps this new show find its footing.
The Showrunners Wanted The CW Series To Take Place During ‘A Very Pivotal Time In Our Nation’s History’
When you make a reboot, especially one that is coming out shortly after the previous series, you want to make sure that there's a dramatic purpose for telling this story once more in order to justify the retelling and to make audiences inclined to go back. With The CW's 4400, it's clear that the goal here is timeliness. When detailing their upcoming show, showrunners Ariana Jackson and Sunil Nayar told EW that they really wanted 4400 to take place in present-day 2021, during "a very pivotal time in our nation's history," to explore "how we got here through all these people from different eras." Through this perspective, they'll hopefully make a series that befits the original while also saying something vital about the here and now.
Here's what Ariana Jackson said:
It's about time travel but setting it in 2021. Where we are now feels like a very pivotal time in our nation's history — it was really interesting to examine how we got here through all these people from different eras. It feels like a really interesting time to set it in to really examine how we came to be here and now, a time where we're really seeing a lot of the cracks in our society and in what we built. We look at how those things might have been built wrong to lead us here to today. There's a reason why we're in the moment we're in.
4400’s Pilot Is Directed By Erica Watson
Starting her filmmaking career with a number of short films, Erica Watson became a television director when she called the shots on a 2017 episode of BET's Tales. From there, Watson went on to work on Krypton, Snowpiercer, L.A.'s Finest, Claws, The L Word: Generation Q, All American, All Rise, Power Book II: Ghost, and David Makes Man. Now, as Variety reported, she's at the helm of The CW's series premiere of 4400. It's unclear if she'll continue to direct episodes throughout the show's run, or if she'll only make the opening episode. But this pilot could be a big calling card project if the series does well.
The Teasers Give Us An Eerie New Look At This Reboot
We're still left with a lot of questions about this upcoming series, but we got our first exclusive look at the show through a couple of new teasers, which don't give us any simple answers but provide an intriguing look at this television reboot. Certainly, The CW's 4400 is going to explore some new and, as mentioned before, timely material, and that's certainly seen in these brief promos. You can check out 4400's first trailer below:
The CW's 4400 premieres on October 25th at 9:00 p.m. EST.
